Previously on "Tilt"...
This is Eddie. This is my daughter, Dee.
Hey.
Well, there are two ways we can play this, then -
pretend it didn't happen, or admit that it was fun and enjoy the ride.
Which is it gonna be?
Hey. Opportunity just flew in on a private jet.
- Oh, yeah? - I need you to play.
- It's a high-altitude game. - I thought I heard your voice.
You want me to stop playing?
Maybe there's a different life for you. The regular kind.
You used to be the last one at the table with me. Now look at all this.
I thought we could have had all this together.
I'm really happy for you.
What you need to do is satisfy your margin call.
$ 20,462.
Look, I need 100, cash, for a venture I'm getting into.
Tell you what. I'll write you a check for 20 grand -
ten for your initial investment, ten because you did come up with the algorithm.
I'm sitting in the big game and he's bankrolling me and I keep half my take.
Guess who's back in town. Our old pal Seymour.
Son of a bitch.
If there's anything you wanna tell me, you should tell me now.
Maybe like, why you're here.
I was warned.
- You were warned. - By Everest himself.
- What are these? - Your fingers.
Spades, diamonds, clubs, hearts. Understand?
Yeah, I understand everything now.
- Hey. - Yo.
See this?
I don't know what the hell we should do now.
Can't believe he's dead.
- Where's Miami? - Thought she'd be with you here.
No. Left her a message. Her phone was off.
- She must be playing. - She doesn't know.
Raise it.
At the poker table, above all else, you gotta keep your emotions in check.
You don't want to show a thing, and you can't show what you don't feel.
- Hm. - You know, I read this thing that says
that people usually make their best decisions after the first two seconds.
- After that, they think themselves out. - I like that. I'll play.
All right. I'll check in the dark and let you do the thinking for both of us.
Outside concerns need to drop away so they don't affect you.
There are no clocks in a casino because there's no time.
There are no newscasts because there's no news.
Vegas is the place where the news comes to die.
If it's not happening at the table, it's not happening.
Remember, think quick.
Or take your time.
No need.
Good, I raise.
Now I'll take my time, consider my options.
Call, raise, or fold. The usual.
You hear what happened at the Palais?
Guy took a header over the railing, landed on a bank of slots.
He hit the jackpot?
- That's bad. - I call.
You could say that. Fell four floors, didn't land on his feet.
- To you. - I bet.
So, who was he, anyway?
Some guy who forgot to take his serotonin cocktail.
Heard he used to run the sports book here.
Anything gets to you, you breathe it in, you breathe it out and let it go.
What else you gonna do? You're at the table, you play the hand.
That's what you're there for.
That's Vegas for you.
Where else can you plunge to your death without leaving the building?
Lady, you got a little quiet over there, but you're still in the hand. Your bet.
Think quick. Think quick.
Would you look at that? She walked away from the nuts.
Feels weird being in here.
Let's just find the bankroll and get out of here.
Hey, Eddie. If Everest and them are cleaning house...
I know. I might be next.
It's a safe.
Seymour was too smart for that. It's too obvious.
Well, it's locked. Something's gotta be in here.
He always bet the yo.
11-11.
- What are you doing? - I want to kill that son of a bitch.
- No, no, no, no. Whoa, wait! - No, get off me!
You can't do it that way. You getting shot down
on your way out isn't what Seymour would've wanted.
What, then?
Look, like we were planning.
We break him at the table.
That's not enough.
Yeah, this guy - the younger one.
He's been popping up at tables with Everest all over the place.
- I know who he is. - Yeah?
Yep.
You've watched tons of this stuff. What do you see?
I'm not sure, but there's definitely something funky going on.
My eyes are swimmin'. I don't know what I'm watching anymore.
Authorities are investigating the apparent suicide
of a once well-known figure in Las Vegas.
Seymour Annisman was the longtime manager
of sports betting at the Colorado Casino.
He had left his job there several years back,
some say under murky circumstances.
Authorities are characterizing the death as a probable suicide.
This is bad.
I gotta go.
We'll suspend these get-togethers for now. They'll be watching too close.
But you keep feeding me tapes when you can.
Hey.
Safety deposit box, Nevada Trust. All of our initials are on the back.
There's a bunch of notations. The last one says "502."
502,000. Seymour did say that we'd have enough ammo with half a mil.
Triple up and double it.
Unless he knows about me, in which case...
Probably doesn't.
If he did, you'd be dead by now.
Matador?
Yeah. It's him.
Well, don't answer it.
I was right next to him and I didn't see this coming.
I'm not sure we should walk into a game based on "probably. "
That's the best any of us ever have.
Monday morning, we go to the bank, we get our money, we set up a game.
- Where are you going? - To get more to hurt him with.
Hey, you're in no shape to play!
- No shape to do anything else. - Mi!
No matter how you look at that, that's not good.
What are you gonna do? People get depressed.
- Sometimes they kill themselves. - Come on.
They lose and that makes them depressed.
Or they win and they're still fat and their wives are still ugly,
so that makes them depressed, so they kill themselves.
This is bad for business! This is the worst kind of publicity.
It's a bad haircut. It grabs headlines for a couple of days
and then some soccer mom from Michigan hits a progressive jackpot,
and that grabs the headlines.
Besides, it happened at another hotel.
No, I've got a Google Alert programmed for Annisman and Colorado,
and I'm getting dinged every five seconds.
We got Don Everest to thank for that. This is bad for the bottom line.
Especially if this kind of thing keeps happening.
Our board of directors is not gonna like that.
My board of directors.
- Listen, I'm just trying... - I know exactly what you're trying to do.
- What are you doing? - Hey, baby.
Where you been?
Around. I didn't give you a key.
Hotel guys can't say no to me.
What's the matter? Losing session?
Yeah, something like that.
Why are you on such a downer? You wanna talk about it?
- I don't do that. - No.
That'd be too normal.
You know, Eddie, if you're gonna make poker your job,
you're gonna have to learn to leave it at the office.
- You learn that from your father? - Sure.
Taught me everything I know.
Except for this.
You got any quarters on you, Skip?
Hi, Don.
Will you cash these in for me?
- Go ahead, put it on. - Does this mean I'm...?
Yeah, it does. You earned your way back.
Don't forget this.
I'll see you up in the top section.
Raise.
I'll see your flop, little sister.
Never been anyone's little sister. Never been anyone's little anything.
My next bet ain't gonna be so little, either.
You gonna turn those or are you gonna sit there like a friggin' statue?
Suddenly, your big pair isn't big enough anymore, is it?
You want to try to draw out. Put a stack in the middle.
You see what I beat you with? You see what I'm willing to play?
You know why I'm willing to? Because of that vacant-ass look in your eye.
- Let's go. - Lock that seat down.
No one's getting away today.
- What? - What the hell is your problem?
- Winning money off suckers. - And telling them how?
- It's a technique. - Not one that could last.
Look, you're messed up over Seymour, OK?
I understand that. But you shouldn't play in a state like this.
Clark? Do you have big, beautiful breasts full of mother's milk?
- What are you talking about? - Stop trying to be a wet nurse.
Look, I'm not leaving you here! Even if you want to act like a bitch.
Whoa, whoa. I'll be over there if you need me.
Yeah, I won't.
Dr. Marsh? My name is Roberts.
We spoke on the phone. I'm from Paulsen Brothers Mortuary.
Can't be honoring requests like this on a regular basis.
I know and I appreciate it. My boss told me that...
All arrangements are to be made after you've received the body.
Good enough for every home in town. You tell that to your Mr. Paulsen.
This is unusual. Don't know why the rush.
Oh, it seems the deceased was Jewish.
There are strict laws regarding burial.
I know how the Jewish people handle their bodies.
'Course you do. 'Course you do.
They bury them right away and I've been instructed to get measurements
so that a suit can be tailored. The family wants it all proper.
Fine, fine. I understand.
Just be quick about it.
Be right back. Don't, uh, don't disturb anything.
Hey, hey!
What the hell's going on here?
- Look... - You're not from Paulsen Brothers.
I don't know what brand of sick bastard you are,
whether you work for the tabloids or you just get off seeing dead people.
None of these. I'm just trying to set this right.
Please, help me prove this was not a suicide. What I see...
Death.
And after you've been working it for 20 years,
what I learned is you want to wait as long as possible before you get there.
You may want to think about that if you plan on messing around in this town.
Now, get the hell out.
Mm-hm, mm-hm. Good hand.
- Yes, yes! - Clarkie!
- You always had a feel for this game, huh? - Nice.
Then again, if it was back room or back alley -
back anything, really - he had a feel for it.
Yeah, we all have our individual strengths, Dean.
Yeah. It's just that I never knew anybody
who liked to slum it up more than you, Clark.
Is there anything you like better than swimming in the mud?
Money, Dean. M-o-n-e-y. Clarkie always had a little yen for money.
I'm trying to get some right now if you'll let me get back to it.
That's what we're here to discuss with you. Come have a drink.
I'm gonna talk to you straight, because of our history
and because of the fact that, well, I have so much crap on you
you could never turn on me without going down yourself.
- That's friendly. - Yeah, it is what it is.
I've picked up a couple of clients recently who have, for whatever reason,
decided they want to pay me in cash for financial services.
Dean. That's really not that important. What is important is that we...
We can't deposit this cash in a bank account.
We have to filtrate it.
Casino is a perfect place to do that kind of thing.
Clark, you, my friend, you are the perfect man to help us do it.
No. You're asking me to commit a felony. Money laundering, that's not my thing.
No, we are giving you an opportunity with very little risk. Clark, you came to me.
You said you had something good going you thought you could capitalize on.
I'm prepared to give you ten percent
of everything you put through that casino, cash.
Let me break it down to you. I have to exchange the cash for chips.
- Then I gotta put the chips into play. - No, no.
- I'll put myself at risk. I'm not doing it. - Clarkie. We could do that.
You need to find a shift boss who'd like to make some easy bucks,
grease him, and get him to vouch for the fact that you put the money into play.
Then you go to the cashier and you get a check.
It'll look like the money was won in the casino.
And at that point, becomes clean money.
It's a violation of Gaming Commission regulations, OK?
Casinos clock me, Feds'll be all over me like freakin' Tara Reid on a jockstrap.
No one will ever know. It's like our little secret.
Really? Then you do it.
Oh, respectable businessmen. We... we can't.
Take this. Do what I said. Let's call it a test run.
When you see that it works, we're gonna do up to a hundred dimes a week.
You can get the drinks. Tip her well. These girls work hard.
I'm surprised you bother with those online games.
I like the challenge.
There's no names, no faces - only the bets.
After a while, I know what everybody's holding anyway.
The turn card's an eight.
Now, if slowpoke here ever gets around to betting,
he's gonna be sitting on queens and eights.
There, he's betting the hand now.
Now, you watch. It's gonna be queens and eights.
My concern is that our old pal, Kansas City Lowball,
is gonna play the cards he's holding.
And what are those gonna be?
I think he might try to push you out of here.
I think he might use these recent developments for leverage with the board,
so they'll do it.
You know, when it comes to a player like that,
there's always ways of making him fold, every time.
How?
You just have to have the right tools - heart and balls.
And just come up over the top of him every single time.
That's just what I wanted to hear.
There it is. What did I tell you? Queens and eights.
The main bout is four-to-one for the Russian.
Ukrainian, whatever. Like that makes a difference.
No, we don't have a line on that bout. That's six-to-five. Pick 'em.
You know why the Russian looks so good?
- No, why is that, Don? - Because those people were built for war.
How were they built for it?
They've been warring with each other for as long as they've existed.
It was hardwired into them, even before anyone knew that expression.
All that Siberian cold, maybe.
Yeah.
You might say the other kid, the Majorcan, is fast and smart.
But I say this -
pure, practiced, inbred aggression will win
over speed and calculation any day.
I've kind of built my life around that notion.
So, Bart, here's a lesson for you.
Don't get in the ring with a puncher, when, more often than not,
you're gonna end up on your back, on the canvas.
You get my meaning?
Ka-pow.
Well, I see someone's on a run.
Why don't you take those stacks up to the top section and give me a play?
- It's not enough yet. - Well, um...
- I hope to see you. - You will.
Soon.
- I raise. - Course you do.
One time, you're gonna get caught, though.
I call.
I'm not even gonna put you all in.
Gonna leave you bus fare.
Let's show 'em.
They're good.
I know they are.
And by the way, you know why I left you those few chips?
'Cause you remind me of my little sister.
I've already been over all this with the cops. I gotta go over it again?
I'm humping two bags. Both of them are heavier than a dead preacher.
And I got this guest on my elbow,
telling me how Jerry Vale kept on eyeballing her from the stage.
Tell me what you saw.
There were a couple of guys - a big guy and a bald guy.
- Did they push him? - I don't know.
I saw them in the hall, then I saw the old guy flying through the air.
That's it.
Yes. I'll vouch for him. I saw him play.
Here you go, Mr. Marcellin.
Thank you.
- Thanks a lot. - My pleasure.
All right, take it easy.
So...
technically, which one of us is the bag man?
- Both of us, I think. - Yeah, but I'm the one carrying it.
If somebody kicks that door in, who do you think they're gonna take down?
Your Pillsbury Doughboy-looking ass or the brother?
Pillsbury Doughboy. That's vintage Clark. Love it.
There's half a unit in there. The test run went smooth enough
that we've accelerated our projection for the rest.
- Accelerated? - Hyper-speed.
We're gonna take 600,000.
Well, actually, you're gonna take 600,000
and spread it out over half a dozen spots in one 24-hour period.
Whoa. One damn day? No, they'll... they'll find out...
Yeah, they're gonna dial in on you, but so what?
By that point, it's gonna be too late for them to catch up with you.
Finish the job, then you leave town.
With ten percent of that number, you'll have a hell of a head start
on whatever it is you need to capitalize on next.
When you move that kind of money, be sure you tip your inside man
a little bit more, you know? Get him in deeper.
Who's the client, Shurgin?
Huh?
And why is he paying you cash? Why is he throwing a hundred large a week at you?
Oh.
He's not beating the SEC or the IRS, is he?
It's the DEA.
You know what they taught me in business school? Money's money.
- Drug money? - Let us be clear.
I did not say that.
And why would you have a problem with it if I did?
Huh.
I got a problem with ten percent.
I get 20 now.
That's vintage Clark.
That's just vintage.
I tell the police already, you know.
Well, now you can tell me.
Give you a chance to practice your English.
I am in a room, I come out to take soap from the cart, and he jumped.
All by himself?
There was two men with him.
What did they look like?
One is... Ay... ¿Cómo se dice? Hombre gordo.
- A fat man. - Sí. Fat. Um...
Y con pajaros.
- A fat man with birds? - Yes.
Gracias.
You want to tell me what I'm doing here?
- Having dinner. - A boy and his mom.
Why not?
You seem a little jumpy.
You know that guy that died at the Palais? He was a friend of mine.
You live long enough, you're gonna lose a lot of friends.
Sorry. Not much warmth in the truth.
Yeah, well, I know people die. It just bothers me, though.
What, that you care or that you don't care?
It's one or the other. Just can't tell which.
I sit down at the card table and I don't feel a damn thing.
Because you're good, Eddie. You're not supposed to.
That was one of the first things that I learned from your father
when I was married to him - detachment is everything.
I saw him play plenty when I was a kid.
He was a hothead - never detached at the card table.
No.
Your father... his problem...
was that he was detached at the dinner table.
- I already told this. - To the cops.
I thought it was a bit they were doing, the three of them.
Like, putting on an act. Like, "Oh, I lost so much money!"
- And they're like, "Don't do it, Joe!" - They called him Joe?
I didn't hear anybody say anything. I'm just giving you my impression.
I didn't want to look, 'cause even if they were clowning,
I have this thing with heights.
I can't even watch scenes like that in movies.
So I didn't see exactly what happened.
But you saw the men who were with him?
Well, I saw 'em, but I didn't see 'em. I wasn't paying much attention.
I understand one of them was... heavy.
Not particularly. Not that I noticed, anyway.
Hm. The other one was bald.
- Pajaros. - Huh?
Did one of them have birds?
Birds? You mean, like, in cages?
- Or on his shoulder. - That I'd remember.
Ohh...
Parrots. Um...
On his shirt - he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
All bright colors and it had these parrots on it.
You know...
he was on the heavy side, now that I come to think of it.
Hey, Mom. Is he home?
No, I was just hoping that maybe he felt like speaking.
No, I can't, Mom. OK?
I need to be out here.
Well, maybe he can come down.
Yeah, I know. Well, just tell him that I called and that I miss him.
Love you too. Make sure he has my number, all right?
You ready to conduct your transaction, sir?
You are selfish, young man.
We all chose a profession where not giving a damn about another person is a positive.
But I think that's the part you like best. Just being out for yourself at the table.
That's vintage Clark. That's just vintage.
Are you ready to conduct your transaction, sir?
No.
No, I'm not.
Yeah, I know who you mean. Tropical Henry. Haven't seen him.
That's my favorite shade of green but... I still haven't seen him.
Should put that hundie away.
But keep it handy. I'd like to earn it.
I know you... from the game at the Colorado.
And I know who you are.
- I don't want any trouble with the law. - So tell me where I can find your friend.
Not in here. I'm going out the back way.
Give me one full minute, then follow me out. Bring the money.
Tropical Henry - I want to get in touch with him.
No kidding. I want to be towel boy for the Syracuse women's lacrosse team.
First, let's have the hundie.
Now, I'll take the rest.
Out here, you're no cop at all.
You're just a sucker with a bounty on your head.
Where can I find Tropical Henry?
I don't know,
Aah! No, no! Not that!
Nobody's seen him since that guy took a header at the Palais.
You were flashing money. We figured we'd take some.
What are you doing?
Taking my money back...
with interest.
- Took you long enough. - You're the one who picked this place.
Had to make sure it was off the beaten path.
Off the map is more like it.
We still in Nevada?
Been dodging Everest's call all day.
She still coming?
She'll be here.
- Oh, lucky shot. - Just like poker.
Loser always thinks the winner's lucky.
I got that out of my system.
The bad play, the anger.
I'm ready to sit across from him at a table and do what we have to do.
I wish there was a way we could hurt him more.
If Seymour was still here, we could.
But for now, a shot at the money is all we have.
Let's take our 500 large, turn it into three million.
- Triple up, then double it. - Right.
- Let's do it. - Yeah?
You sure now? 'Cause you've got the most to lose. If he sees through this,
this game will never come together, and that will not be the worst of your problems.
Bank in the morning, table after that.
When he invites me to play, I act reluctant, then agree.
Let's set up a game. Take his ass down.
Let's do it.
Right there!
I'm seizing these photos.
Your taking them is a violation of the family's privacy and the law.
- There any other copies? - No. Files are in there, too.
How'd you, uh... how'd you know I took 'em?
The coroner called me.
See, law enforcement's kind of like a club out here. We're clubby.
Just take a look.
The belt loop.
You see? The shirt right there, the way it's torn.
Only way that could happen is if he was pushed.
Look, Sheriff.
I'm showing you a courtesy by not prosecuting this time. Next time, I won't.
I'll tell you who you should prosecute.
Wait outside, boys.
I know what you're doing. You're trying to turn this suicide into a murder.
That's the point. It's no suicide.
Your days of strutting around here with impunity are over!
Next time I see your face, it better be through the window of a departing airplane.
Kind of game you're talking about,
you can't sit down and play with a pocketful of petty cash.
Yeah. How's 200 long?
That's a "two" with five zeroes after it.
Right. Plus two more after the decimal point.
I guess I could find a chair for you.
MF?
A young lady. Only name I have for her is Miami,
so I figure her last name must be Florida.
- You're in. - Cool.
- Call you when the table's ready. - All right, thanks.
You'll like this. Two babies just showed up with five large between them.
They want a big game.
- Babies, huh? - Youngsters. Take a look.
Kid named Clark Marcellin.
Girl calls herself Miami.
It's a good thing she's not from St. Augustine.
I already slated you in.
Hold on a second.
- Where the hell have you been? - Busy.
Busy? Doing what?
You weren't in the card room. Dee says you...
No, I wasn't with her, either.
All right, then. I guess we'll just call it a mental-health day.
- Skip, put Eddie T on the board. - You know what, Don?
I'm gonna sit this one out. Stakes you play give me a nosebleed.
Hang on a second.
Take a look at that. You're gonna want a piece of this.
Maybe I should sit this one out. Might not be objective enough.
You're gonna be fine.
I insist.
The most powerful play in no-limit poker is the all-in wager.
Execute it correctly at just the right moment, and you can break a man.
But if you're gonna commit all your chips to a pot,
you better make sure that you actually have the best of it.
Because when you're all in, there's no middle ground.
You either win or you lose everything you have.
I'll play.
OK, Skip. We're on for 9:00.
Gonna have ourselves a hayride.